Thursday,
March 16, 1916
The Highland Recorder commenting upon an accident to a citizen who cut off his thumb while splitting wood last week, deplores the practice of holding the block in one hand while using the axe with the other and advises strongly against the custom. The same kind of an accident happened to a neighbor here last week. It is a matter to which we have given much thought and on which we reached a conclusion some years ago. We knew of one case where the wood flew up and put out the operator’s eye, and another case where the axe clove the foot, damaging a perfectly good shoe, and crippling the man. Having taken all these things into consideration, we decided that it was a dangerous occupation and since that time we have had nothing whatever to do with cutting or splitting wood in person.
FIRE
Tuesday morning at 3 o’clock the town was aroused by the alarm of fire. The residence of B. B. Williams, county superintendent of schools, was found to be ablaze, but by the prompt response of the firemen, the fire was put out in a few minutes. The damage by fire and water will amount to several hundred dollars, fully covered by insurance.
So promptly was the alarm given by means of the night telephone service instituted some weeks since by the Ronceverte & Elkins Telephone Company and the Town Council, and so effective was the work of the firemen that the fire was subdued before it had progressed sufficiently to wipe out unmistakable signs that it was of incendiary origin.
The fire had been set at the back of the house and had burned the back porch roof and ceiling, and through the weather boarding. In the front room upstairs, used as an office by the County Superintendent of Schools, oil had been put on the bed, the windows covered with bed clothes, and fire set in several places. Upon entering this room a number of firemen were almost overcome by the smoke and fumes of oil. Greasy rags were also found in other parts of the house. An oil can, recently filled, was found empty next morning. The back door was also found open.
Mrs. Williams was alone in the house that night. Mr. Williams having gone to the farm at Beard the day before. Before being aroused by the fire she thought she had heard someone moving about the premises. She was so nearly overcome by the smoke that she fainted after arousing the neighbors with her screams and has since been in a serious condition.
This fire certainly must have been the work of a person with a deranged mind – a fire bug. The Williams family is not known to have an enemy in the world.
Then, too, the circumstances of this fire are not unlike those attending the two big fires which have occurred in Marlinton since Christmas. The fire which destroyed the McClintic, Williams and Cochran buildings broke out at three o’clock in the morning, and these buildings appeared to be on fire all over when discovered, and the occupants made their escape in their night clothes…
Town, county and state authorities are bending their efforts to run down the fire fiend, but the frame of mind of the people generally can not be described as easy now that they know that the community harbors such a fiend in human form, who would fire a home in which women and children are sleeping, for the sake of satisfying a morbid desire to see property destroyed by fire, or to do away with evidence of petty thievery.
DUNMORE
Born to E. N. Moore and wife, a boy.
Dr. Lambert has five cases of diptheria at the home of John Galford.
There will be a big oyster Supper at Dunmore Saturday evening – proceeds for sidewalk.
Auctioneer Swecker will make Ellis Moore’s big sale of valuable property March 30th. We expect to see all the candidates there that day. There will be some fine horses there with rosetts on their bridle.
We are glad to see W. McClintic out for county commissioner – the right man in the right place. The road proposition is the biggest and most important in the county, and Withrow is a road man from the heart. He is one of our largest farmers and stock growers and fruit growers in the county and believes in doing things right. He has the best arrangements around his premises to be found anywhere.
BUCKEYE
The weather is ideal now and sugar trees are doing fine. Rav Kellison and Wayne Jackson are running the old camp; they say they are going to sweeten up.
Well, we suppose Uncle Sam will make the Mexican wool fly; if he turns his bulldogs loose, Villa will have to skedaddle if he don’t get caught.
The tumble bugs will be very scarce next summer – they will all turn to candidates and some of them will go up salt river.
LOBELIA
Sugar making is the order of the day.
Cal Clutter and Sam Scott have rented Allen Spinks’ sugar camp.
Walter Dean of Seebert was visiting at Mrs. Mae Bobbett’s Sunday.
F. W. Dean has accepted a position as clerk in the Lobelia Bargain House.
MINGO
R. W. Moore has returned from Lewisburg where he went to buy a horse.
John and Frank Wood had an upset while hauling hay last Saturday, but nobody was hurt.
We were sorry to hear of the death of John D. Gibson.
DIED
Word has been received that death has claimed Col. John Adam McNeel, of Lexington, Virginia. He died after a short illness from acute Bright’s disease. He was a native of Pocahontas county, a son of the late Col. Paul McNeel of this county and a brother of Mrs. Captain Edgar, of the Levels… He was seventy years old.
Clark Barlow, aged about 22 years, son of Mr. and Mrs. Silas Barlow, died at the Marlinton Hospital… Burial in the Cochran graveyard on Stony Creek.
John D. Gibson died at his home on Elk Friday evening, March 10… aged 49 years. Burial in the Gibson graveyard… Mr. Gibson was a good citizen and a kind neighbor, and a man who will be greatly missed. He is survived by his wife and their three children, French, Edmonia and Luceile.